- At the same moment somewear in Queens -
"Did you find him?" Jason asked Lei.
"No!" Lei replied. "I've searched the whole block, but he's nowhere to be found."
"I see. Where could he have gone?" Jason muttered, scanning the area.
His eyes landed on a nearby newspaper vendor, and when he saw the front page his expression suddenly brightened.
He quickly walked over, grabbed a copy and pointed to the headline.
"I think I know where he is."
Lei joined Jason, peering at the newspaper.
The headline read: Empire State University Hosts Free Exposition.
"An exposition?" Lei questioned.
"Hey! If ya ain't gonna pay for it, put it back where ya found it !" the old man selling the newspapers grumbled.
"A scientific one! Of course that little smartass would go there." Jason muttered completely ignoring the vendor.
He recalled a few days ago, while searching Erik's room as he routinely did with all the children on Lady Yuan's orders.
He had found a torn page from a newspaper.
It mentioned an upcoming exposition. At the time, he hadn't thought much of it, but when he saw the headline today the memory clicked into place.
"Where is it?" Lei asked.
"Not far" Jason replied. "It's just across the East River."
"Alright then, let's go check it out." Lei said.
Jason placed the newspaper back on the stand and with Lei, headed in the direction of the Empire State University.
"Hmph!" the old man grumbled, giving them a dirty look. "Can't even afford a newspaper!" he muttered in his thick New York accent.
- Back to the exposition -
Inside the building, there were several rooms, each dedicated to various exhibits.
One showcased all sorts of inventions, including a pair of jet-powered roller skates from Stark Industries.
"What the fuck?" Erik blurted out when he saw the skates.
"Haaaa! He said a bad word Mommy!" A little girl nearby shouted, pointing at him.
The mother shot him an angry glare.
Erik awkwardly waved his hand. "Sorry" He gently said, scratching the back of his head.
He quickly shifted his attention back to the skates, reading the description of the invention.
The 60mph jet-powered roller skates were actually designed for use by the US military.
Collapsible, portable, and capable of attaching to an ordinary boot, Stark Industries wants to creates these skates so that an entire military division can propel across long distances at fast speeds without vehicles.
"Imagining a troop going down one of America's curvier East Coast highways at 60 mph immediately makes me wonder just how many broken legs may result from this." Muttered Erik a smile on his face.
"But knowing Tony, he probably already had a solution in mind for that."
Erik continued browsing the inventions in the room but nothing really caught his eye.. So he moved on to the next room.
"There are over 50,000 species of spiders around the world. All cataloged in the World Spider Catalog." A scientist explained to a group of onlookers.
Erik walked in, glancing around.
"Arachnids possess different strengths and abilities that aid them in their constant search for food" the scientist continued.
"For example, this grass spider hunts using reflexes with nerve conduction velocity so fast that some researchers believe it almost surfs on the edge of precognition." The scientist remarked.
"An early awareness of danger... A spider sense." He elaborated.
"This one can alter its color to blend seamlessly with its surroundings, using camouflage as a defense mechanism." The scientist pointed out.
"What we're attempting here is cross-species genetics." He explained.
"We're working to decode the DNA blueprints of various spiders. Our goal is to create an entirely new genome by combining the DNA of several species into genetically designed super-spiders." He said with great enthusiasm.
Unbeknownst to everyone, Up on the ceiling above a forgotten shelf cloaked in dust.
The very fabric of space began to ripple — silent and subtle, like two unseen hands pulling apart the threads of reality itself.
A small tear opened in the air, a hole into the multiverse. And then… a spider stepped through.
She was no ordinary spider. Her body shimmered with iridescent colors, pulsing and glitching faintly as if struggling to stay stable in this dimension.
The hole snapped shut behind her without a sound, vanishing like it had never been there at all.
Guided or maybe drawn by something — or someone. The spider descended the shelf with purpose.
Her many legs tapped gently against the wood, then the tile as she moved with eerie certainty.
People walked by, oblivious.
It crawled on the ground, narrowly avoiding being crushed and miraculously survived.
Just as someone stopped nearby, nearly squashing it. The spider furiously began to climb up his jeans and slipped under his sweater.
"Unfortunately" Said the scientist with a note of sadness.
"The super spiders don't seem to tolerate the modifications. They all end up dying. And for those that do survive, their lifespan is quite short. As you can see.." He continued, gesturing to the enclosures. "But the results have been promising."
People began approaching the enclosures to take a closer look, and even Erik peered in with curiosity.
The spiders lay still, not moving at all.
"Now, the next subject." He said, gesturing to the other side of the room. "Gamma Ray's" The crowd began to follow him.
Erik however, remained where he was. Still observing the super spiders with a keen interest.
"This situation feels strangely familiar." He murmured, his fist resting under his chin as he pondered in front of the enclosure.
"Is this the genesis of what would give Peter Parker his powers in the futur ?" He pondered.
Suddenly, a sharp pain pierced his chest. "Agh!" He exclaimed reflexively, slamming his hand against it.
"What the—" His heart started to race uncontrollably, his vision blurred, and without warning he slowly lost consciousness.